Chapter 305: First Battle in the West Blue
Fleet Admiral Kong pulled out the bounty poster of the Red Count, Patrick Redfield.
In just two years, Redfield's bounty had skyrocketed from 2 billion to 2.6 billion Berries—the fastest-rising bounty in recent memory.
If he had commanded a full crew or pirate fleet, his bounty would've easily surpassed 3 billion.
All the Marine officials studied the intelligence reports with furrowed brows.
They had originally thought that with Rockefeller Charlotte out of the New World, operations there would become easier and more manageable. That assumption, it turned out, had been dead wrong.
Charlotte's departure had triggered a chain reaction.
First came the remnants of the Rocks Pirates, like Charlotte Linlin, and now Redfield was causing chaos across the seas. Both were wreaking havoc, and the Marines were powerless to stop them.
In comparison, the Flying Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates had remained relatively quiet.
"The rampant rise of New World pirates is far beyond our expectations. At this point, we can confidently say the New World belongs to the pirates. The civilians living there are suffering more than ever," Kong said with gritted teeth.
But there was nothing he could do. Sending a large Marine force into the New World was nearly impossible.
Even attempting to move ships in would result in those vessels being blocked by the top pirates in the region.
The Navy was at a dead end.
Thud!
Vice Admiral Tsuru put down the report in her hands.
"For now, all we can do is continue building our strength and wait for a major upheaval in the future. When that happens, we strike and reclaim the New World."
She looked around at the visibly frustrated Marine officers.
Everyone sat in silence, their heads lowered in frustration.
"That's enough. This meeting is over. Return to your duties, and protect what little dignity the Navy has left," Kong said, waving them away.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
The group of officers stood up in unison, saluted, and filed out of the conference room.
Zephyr left with the others.
After everything he'd been through, Zephyr had grown increasingly uncertain about his ideals of justice. The only thing that gave him a sense of purpose now… was training the next generation of Marines.
"Zephyr-sensei! Is the meeting over?"
A voice called out.
Zephyr looked up.
"So it's you, Kuzan. What are you doing here?"
Zephyr's stiff face cracked a faint smile.
"I brought the strongest liquor I could find. Wanted to share it with you."
Kuzan held up a bottle of wine.
Seeing it, Zephyr finally smiled for real.
"Ha ha ha! You always know what I like. Come! Let's have a drink!"
Zephyr slung an arm over Kuzan's shoulder as they headed to the mess hall.
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West Blue—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The moment they entered the West Blue, they were attacked by a foolish pirate crew—welcoming the Rockefeller Pirates with their lives.
"These low-class pirates really don't know their place!"
Caesar hovered in the air, scowling at the attackers.
"Big Bro, just sit back and enjoy the show! Leave this to us!"
Below, Tesla and the others charged in with weapons drawn.
"Where are your grown-ups, you little brats?"
The one-eyed pirate captain roared, irritated that he couldn't even take down a bunch of kids.
"You're not even worthy of seeing my dad. Guys—attack!"
Tesla yelled, slicing into the enemy ranks with his blade.
Esdeath stepped in front of the captain with her rapier.
"Sorry, this road's closed."
The captain flew into a rage.
"Kill them all!"
Dozens of pirates surged forward at the order.
But in just a few short minutes, all forty to fifty pirates lay dead, sprawled across the deck in bloody silence.
Charlotte leaned against the ship's railing, sipping wine and enjoying the sea breeze.
Watching his children take down the pirate crew with ease brought a proud smile to his face.
After the fighting, it was time for the kids' favorite part: treasure hunting.
"Charge! Where's the captain's cabin?!"
Robert took the lead, racing toward the ship's cabin with Deidara, Sif, and Eve in tow.
Tesla followed at a more leisurely pace.
The younger ones, like Logan and his group, remained on deck looting corpses—a practice Charlotte encouraged to harden their nerves.
He wasn't raising killing machines—but instilling courage was essential.
Everything was proceeding in perfect order.
"Dad! Dad! Look what I found!"
Robert's excited shout interrupted Charlotte's musings.
He looked up, curious. For Robert to be this excited… it must be something extraordinary. Normally, they didn't even shout when finding piles of Berries.
Robert ran over, clutching a basketball-sized box, followed by his equally excited siblings.
"Dad! I found a Devil Fruit!"
His face was radiant with excitement.
They had discovered a Devil Fruit in the captain's quarters.
Now Charlotte was interested.
Collecting Devil Fruits was one of his few enduring hobbies.
"Oh? What kind of Devil Fruit? Bring it here!"
Charlotte smiled.
Robert and the others rushed over, holding the box.
Charlotte took it, opened it—and inside lay a gray-white fruit, quietly resting.
"Go to my quarters and bring the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia!"
"Yes!"
Robert bolted away and returned shortly with the worn book from Charlotte's desk.
Charlotte flipped it open, scanning for a match.
Just then, Tesla returned with a journal, having looted everything of value from the pirate ship.
Everyone had an armful of treasure—probably around 30 to 40 million Berries in loot. Not bad for a random pirate crew.
Their ship was lashed to the Poseidon and would be towed to the next island for sale. Pirate ships were valuable—often fetching hundreds of millions. The crew would get a share of the profits, even if it was just enough for a good drink.
Charlotte, sitting in his chair, finally matched the fruit in the book.
"It's the… Castle-Castle Fruit!"
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